How do I connect a pc to the internet via a laptop that is connected wirelessly to a router?

Question

I have a netbook running windows xp home. It's connected to a router wirelessly and works on the internet. I have a desktop PC that is hooked up to it via ethernet. I would like to use internet on the desktop PC, via the netbook, but neither ICS nor network bridging have helped. Is is possible to achieve this feat, and if so what settings do I have to use?

Answer 1

On your netbook run the Network Setup Wizard and choose option #1:

and select your wireless connection to be shared.

Your network controller (the wired one) will get the following IP settings assigned:

• IP 192.168.0.1

• subnet 255.255.255.0

• no gateway, no DNS

When done you can create a setup disk to run on the computer you want to connect through the netbook. or use manual IP settings on the desktop:

• IP 192.168.0.2
• subnet 255.255.255.0

• Gateway 192.168.0.1

• Primary DNS Server: 192.168.0.1

Answer 2

When you say "hooked up to it", do you mean that the desktop PC has an Ethernet connection to the router, or to the netbook? I assume it's the latter, but then ICS should work... The procedure here may help, which is effectively summarised in Molly's answer.